The water around me shrank and swelled with the tide as I awoke on the beach. I'm not exactly sure what happened or how I got there...I remember jumping off a doomed ship with my friends Jon and Troy after the world ended, scavenging what we could find. Now all of a sudden, they are gone and I'm alone on the beach, with nothing but a flashlight and some first aid. I appear to be ok, so I'm sure Jon and Troy are out there, somewhere, hopefully looking for me. First thing first, I have to find something to arm myself with. I appear to be on the outskirts of a major city, looks like what Jon and Troy described as Cherno(when they checked their map, which they did constantly). I'm glad they are so well oriented, or I wouldn't have a clue where to tell them I'm at when I can get in touch with them again.I'm next to 2 small silos of some sort, with a 2 story house about 30 feet away to my north with a few zombies wandering about. To my right I hear footsteps. I quickly turn, expecting to see another zombie...but to my surprise it's another survivor, but I don't recognize him...which means he could be even more of a threat than the zombies. Living in this post-apocalyptic hell really sours your trust for strangers. He approached and asked for help, he was unarmed from what I could tell. "I have no idea where to go or what to do!" he shouted. I told him to get down and shut up unless he wanted to be dinner for the undead. This guy hasn't really familiarized himself with the world yet...denial maybe. "We can stick together, but don't make yourself a liability, or else you are on your own", I said. He eagerly agreed. I thought to myself "hell, at the very least he can slow down the zombies long enough for me to get away". A terrible thought, but it is what it is.I low crawled passed the silos and was keeping an eye on the zombies ahead, making sure to stay out of their vision. All of a sudden I hear the familiar shriek that those bastards only make when they have spotted a two-legged meal. I turn around to see my new "friend" being feasted upon like thanksgiving dinner by 3 walkers. That didn’t take long. There was no hope of saving him, considering we were both unarmed. All I could do was turn away, continue moving forward, and hope that he bleeds out quickly so he doesn't have to suffer long. Poor guy. The area I was in was apparently fenced in, and I managed to low crawl my way out of the gate without alerting any more walkers. Just as I round the corner, a zombie to my left stumbles in my direction from about 40 feet away. I remain still, hoping it will turn, but as it draws closer it's obvious he's going to run into me if I don't do something. I slowly shift my body to his left, hoping to stay out of its sight. After about 10 feet, I'm safely out of his sight but in the middle of the street, so I continue to move until I'm on the other side of the street, and I wait for him to pass.Once he passed and I was safely at his back, I popped up and started to crouch walk my way into the city. I quickly realized I had absolutely no bearing for where I was. So I picked an empty street and went from house to house. For the first 30 minutes, there wasn't a zombie in sight. The first few houses proved to have lots of ammo lying about, but no weapon. I picked up a few batches of ammo from all sorts of weapon types, not knowing what exact weapon I would stumble into, I figured it would be better to have a little of everything available.I continued stocking up on random ammo and supplies in the last house on this particular street. I actually found some chem lights and a pile of flares. Even though it was still daylight, I have found that they are great for distracting zombies by throwing them far away and watching them play "fetch". It worked every time...thank God. I couldn't count how many rounds of ammo I have saved in the past simply by tossing a flare down the street to give myself a zombie-free path. Aside from that, it would be dark in a few hours, so although it wasn't a firearm, the flares were still a welcomed find. I had pretty much filled my pockets and my backpack up at this point..

I managed to pick up a couple cans of beans and a Pepsi someone had left behind before I exited. I didn't realize how hungry or thirsty I was until I picked them up. I wasted no time. It might have been cold beans out of a can, but it tasted like fucking fillet Mignon. The Pepsi actually hurt going down, because I probably drank it too fast and it had been so long since I had anything fizzy. It was still a damn fine meal, considering the position I was in. I'm glad I decided to eat when I did, I really needed it. I had no idea that the next hour was going to be a test of my will to live. After feeling satisfied that I picked the houses on this street clean. I moved on. As I took a left on the intersecting road at the end of the street, I saw a few walkers in the distance. I decided it would be best to stick to back yards that lined the street, since there were nice big brick walls separating me from the eyes of the undead. I didn't realize that this was also a risky choice because I could not see anything to my right or left as I came to each new back yard. It didn't take long for me to meet face to face with a hopper. Hoppers are those bastards that run around like gorillas on all four. I have yet to fully understand why some zombies walk while others hop. Anyway, it was clear that he saw me, considering he immediately started to charge. I ran as fast as I could between the houses into the next street. I knew this created a high risk of alerting other zombies, but shit, what choice did I have without a weapon? Sure enough, walkers in the street were instantly aware of my situation and decided to join their friend in pursuit of me without hesitation. I ran for what seemed like forever. Around houses, through allies, circling around fucking bushes. Eventually I lost them and ended up in some sort of manufacturing district. I heard their moans, they actually sounded like they knew they had been defeated, remorseful even. Whatever...it wasn't the time to ponder whether or not they have emotion. I was just glad to be alive. I wandered through the manufacturing district with extreme caution. With all of the tall structures around me, I knew there was a possibility of bandits at the top with a sniper rifle pointed at my head. I stayed low, behind small shacks, sprinting from cover to cover, just like I was taught in the Army. It's times like these where I'm really thankful I have military experience, since zombies aren't the only threat to worry about. Sometimes I wonder if I should do the same as the bandits… Lose all sense of empathy, honor, respect for the human race, and just wax fellow survivors on sight to further my own assurance of survival. But in the end, that's not who I am. I haven't yet lost faith in humanity...maybe one day...but not today.As I came to the edge of a large building, I saw an open shack and decided to take a look in there for anything useful. The phrase "I need a fucking weapon!" has been echoing in my head ever since I woke up on the edge of town. As I approach the door, I hear the moan of a zombie. "Shit", I said, without realizing I actually verbalized it. It must have heard me, because as I looked inside it was staggering out in my direction. I looked at him in the eyes and said "Is there any way you guys could NOT be up my ass every time I feel a glimmer of hope?" He reached out for me. I wish I could have high fived him, just to mock him, but decided that becoming this guy's dinner was not as favorable as simply running away. So bro-ing it up with a zombie was out of the question. I turned around and sprinted away from the shack, looking carefully left and right to make sure there wasn't anyone or anything else around that might want to kill me. It looked clear, and within a few seconds the zombie had lost sight of me, as I no longer heard its pursuit. I hadn't even noticed I was headed straight for a hospital.The hospital was abandoned, along with 5 apartment buildings around it. Fucking Jackpot! I wasted no time in searching them, apartments first, saving the hospital for last. Only a couple of the undead staggered around in this area, easily avoided with proper timing and a little luck. I did however notice that every time I left an apartment building, there seemed to be a new zombie walking around. Was it there already? Or could they smell me? Something was definitely weird. Regardless, I just increased my caution. The 4th apartment I searched finally yielded what I had been after. I found a double-barreled shotgun, and a Makarov in the same room. Lucky for me I had enough ammo for both weapons to last a while, due to my clever planning in stocking up on random types of ammo.Once I exited that building, fully armed, I looked around for zombies...I actually wanted to kill some. I guess running away from them all evening had finally taken its toll, and revenge conquered my better judgment. To my surprise, there were none around anymore; like they wandered off...I saw no bodies, nothing. Just gone. This didn't set right with me, but it's probably for the best. Looking back, I really didn't need to go Rambo and waste ammo, and attract more zombies and bandits to my area...it's not like you can actually "teach them a lesson" or anything. As I approached the last apartment, I heard several moans inside. Before I could even assess the situation, about 5 zombies started staggering out of the front door, all wearing business suits. I wish I could have taken the time to see the comedy in that, zombie business men all walking out of an apartment building together like they are about to carpool, but there wasn't any time for that. I aimed my double-barrel at the first one, and pulled the trigger. HOLY SHIT that was LOUD! The sound echoed all around as the zombie slumped the ground, and I wasted no time in pulling the trigger a second time to kill the next zombie in line, who also slumped over on top of his dead friend. I switched to my pistol to finish off the last 3, realizing that I had little time to dispatch them due to the double-barrel probably alerting every zombie within earshot. Before I could take aim, they were on me. I got hit, 3, maybe 4 times, I can't remember. One of them opened me up pretty good on my shoulder. I remained focused and walked backwards as I fired. With all of the adrenaline pumping, I felt no pain. It took less than one clip to take all 3 of them down.I bandaged myself up as fast as I could outside. I had 3 problems to face now. Not knowing how many other zombies may be inside, and not knowing how many were currently running to my location, and the wild card of not knowing if I had also alerted any bandits. I reloaded both of my weapons and decided it would be wiser to keep my pistol out as I cleared the building. I moved in quickly and then very slowly ascended the stairs, checking open rooms one at a time. Luckily enough, the apartment building was empty. I sat and listened carefully to the sounds outside, which there were none. I sat down and breathed out a sigh of relief.

After checking the apartment for useful items, I managed to find some more ammo for the pistol, some more food and drink...but that was about it. I needed to rest. I had been through a lot in the last few minutes. I went into one of the corner bedrooms and sat down. I tried to think of ways to get in touch with Jon and Troy. I don't know why, but I just knew they were alive. I could feel it. I hoped that they were having an easier time than I was having. I also hoped that they knew I was still alive as well, and were looking for me. I still had no idea what happened to separate us, and that was unsettling. After about 10 minutes, it was time to get up and move to the hospital. I exited the room, and what I saw made me nearly shit myself. There was a guy lying prone just outside of the room I was in with an M16A2 pointed straight at the doorway. Without thinking, I instantly aimed my double-barrel at his head and fired. The muzzle was only 2 feet from his head, I shouldn’t really need to explain what the result of that was, but let’s just say that Aspirin isn't going to help that guy. I instantly was filled with a million questions. How did he get there without me hearing him? Was he in the building already? I cleared it though, was he stalking me? If so, how long? Why was he just waiting rather than taking me out when he had the chance? Was he friendly? The last question disturbed me, could I have just killed someone who was looking to join up with me, but maybe too untrusting to voice it out? I needed to know the answer to that question. I searched his body for clues. It didn't take long to ease my conscience. This guy had some nice things, things I don't think you just find on the ground like what I had in my backpack. I guess I was just quicker than he was.Confident that he was a bandit, I rearmed myself with his M16, took his medical supplies (blood bag, antibiotics, morphine, etc), and his remaining food. He had 3 mags for his M16, so I was good to go on weapons now. I stepped out onto the balcony to take out a few zedheads at long distance to get a feel for it. Head shots from 300 yards away, I hadn't lost my touch with this weapon since my days in the Army. It felt great. Knowing that I no longer needed to check out the hospital, I took a moment to collect myself and go over my goals. Plus it was getting dark, and I needed rest. I decided that the sleeping in the city was probably the worst option. Luckily, this area was right at the edge of town, so all I had to do was head north up a hill to be secluded by wilderness. I went outside, found a clear path up the hill, only a few walkers around, and a good distance to my left and right. It was pretty much a straight shot. I made it to the tree line and then headed east. I didn't want to go too far from the city, because I needed to be able to tell Jon and Troy where I was in reference to the city, when and if I am able to get in touch with them.I ended up coming upon an abandoned gas station not too far from the hospital, along with a few shacks. One shack had a spool of razor wire inside. That will come in handy. After I packed it in my backpack, I figured this would be a pretty safe area to make camp for the night. I went back up the hill, about 50 feet away from the tree line, and rested in the tall grass. Sleep won't come easy; as I know I have a lot of work I have to do, and still don't know where to begin. But I'll let my future self worry about that, my current self needs sleep.Before I closed my eyes, I thought to myself “Good job, you’re still alive, let’s see if we can do it again tomorrow”